The Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) conducts a standard recruitment examination for various ‘Specialist Officers’ (SO) cadre posts every year. It’s an excellent opportunity for everyone looking for a lucrative career option in banking. The exam is conducted in two phases: preliminary and mains. Both exams are taken online. If you aspire to apply for the IBPS SO exam, you must know about the eligibility criteria.
There is no prior work experience needed, but you have to satisfy the nationality, age, and educational criteria explained as below.
Nationality or Citizenship
You can apply for the specialist officer position if you are
- An Indian citizen
- A subject of Nepal or Bhutan
- A Tibetan refugee who settled in India before 1st January 1962
- An Indian origin person migrated from Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Burma, East African countries of Kenya, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania (known as Zanzibar and Tanganyika before), Malawi, Zambia, Ethiopia, Zaire, and Vietnam and settled in India.
In all the cases except the first one, i.e., Indian citizen, you will have to get an eligibility certificate issued by the Indian government before applying.
Age Limit
There are maximum and minimum age limits for each IBPS SO post under the general and economically weaker section (EWS) category. So, you can only apply if you fall within the specified age limit. The minimum age for each of the posts is 20 years, while the maximum age is 30 years. However, there is a relaxation on the upper age limit if you belong to the following categories.
- Scheduled caste/scheduled tribe – 5 years
- Other backward classes (non-creamy layer) – 3 years
- Persons with benchmark disability as defined under ‘The rights of persons with disabilities Act, 2016’-10 years
- Ex-servicemen commissioned officers including short service commissioned officers (SSCOS)/emergency commissioned officers (ECOS)/ who have worked at least five years in the military and have been released on completion of assignment (including those who will complete their assignment within a year from the last date of receipt of application) or are dismissed/discharged on account of misconduct or inefficiency or physical disability attributable to military service or invalided- 5 years
- Victims of 1984 riots- 5 years
Educational Qualifications
Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) has specified a necessary educational qualification for every post. So, you must check the academic qualification required for the post you will be applying for. Your degree must be from a university/ institution/ board recognised by the Indian government or approved by government regulatory bodies.
There are six posts in IBPS SO for which you can apply. The educational requirements for each of them are mentioned below.
I.T. Officer
- 4-year engineering or technology degree in computer science/ computer applications/ information technology/ electronics/ electronics & communication/ electronics & instrumentation/ electronics & telecommunications
Or,
- Post-graduate degree in electronics/electronics & communication/ electronics &telecommunication/ electronics & instrumentation/ computer science/ computer applications / information technology
Or,
- Graduate with DOEACC ‘B’ level certificate
Agricultural Field Officer (Scale 1)
- 4-year degree or graduation in agriculture/ horticulture/animal husbandry/ veterinary science/dairy science/pisciculture/ fishery science/ agri. marketing &cooperation/agro-forestry/ co-operation & banking/ forestry/ agricultural biotechnology/agriculture business management/ food science / food technology/ agricultural engineering/ dairy technology/sericulture
Rajbhasha Adhikari (Scale 1)
- Postgraduate degree in Hindi with English as a subject during graduation, or a postgraduate degree in Sanskrit with English and Hindi as subjects during graduation
- Law Officer (Scale 1)
- It needs a bachelor’s degree in law (LLB). You should also be enrolled as an advocate with the Bar Council.
HR/Personnel Officer (Scale 1)
- Graduate and full-time postgraduate degree or full-time postgraduate diploma in personnel management / industrial relations/ HR/HRD/ social work/labour law.
Marketing Officer (Scale 1)
- Graduate and Full time MMS (Marketing) / MBA (Marketing) / Full time 2 years PGDM / PGDBM with specialization in Marketing.
Percentage Calculation
As there is no minimum marks requirement, anyone who satisfies the criteria mentioned above can apply for the IBPS SO post. You can apply if you are in the final year, but your result should be declared before the last date of submitting the form. You should calculate the percentage to two nearest decimals and convert the CGPA/OGPA scores to the percentage as per the university’s norms.
The fraction of percentage is ignored while calculating, so if your score is 54.99%, it will be considered less than 55%. You must also note that you can apply for only one post at a time. So, try not to apply for multiple positions as you will be disqualified. Once you have applied for the post online, you can start with your preparations.
